Cleamitc amd lttbbicating



I L. A. BARRY.

vCLEANING AND LUBRICATING DEVICE FOR COMMUTATORS.

APPLlCATlON FILED APR, H, 1921.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

WITNESSES I rriae iv.

' LESTER ennnn'r. ARRY, or nnnrtnann, wroivrino.

CLEANING AND tnnarce'rrne nnvr'on iron conivrurnroas'.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnsrnn ALBERT BARRY,

aciti'z'en of the United States, and a resident of Kemmerer, in the county of Lincoln and btat'e of Wyoming, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements in Cleaning and Lubricating Devices for Commutators, of which the following is a speclfication.

My invention relates to electrical motors and generators, and more particularly to the coinin-utators thereof, the'purpose of my in venti'onbe'ing the provision of a device which serves to constantly lubricate and clean the segments of commutators to prevent excessive wear thereof and toinsure a good electrical contact between the brushes and commutator. p

I will describe one form of device embodying my invention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a view showing a motor or generator of standard form having applied thereto one form of lubricating and cleaning device embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the holder comprised in the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of the complete device shown in Figure 1.

Referrin specifically to the drawings, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, my device in its present embodiment comprises a sleeve S formed of a single length of metal which is bent in the form of a rectangle with the ends of the metal welded or otherwise secured together. One of the'upper horizontal edges of the sleeve is provided with an upstanding positioning finger F, the free end of which terminates in a return bend to provide a relatively broad and rounded end as indicatcl at 15.

The sleeve S and the positioning finger F are designed for the purpose of supporting 'a cleaning and lubricating element E which I Specification of Letters Patent, P t t- 1 App 311, 1922 Ap lication filed April 11, 192;. Serial n esogisi.

positioning finger F and thus supported against collapsing.

The element and the sleeve S are adapted to be supported as a unit in appliedposition wi h respect to the commutator of a motor generator by means of a clasp designated generally at C and this clasp in the present instance comprises a single length of wire bent intermediate its ends to provide a substantially U-shaped yoke 17. The ends of the yoke terminate in'coils 18, and the ends of the coils are extended forwardly and downwardly to provide supporting arms 19 which are disposed in alinement as is clearly shown in Figure 2.

In the applied position of the clasp C with respect to the sleeve S, the yoke 17 is disposed at one side of and in slightly spaced relation to. the sleeve S, the coils 18 serving to urge the yoke in the direction of the sleeve and yieldingly supporting such yoke so that the latter cooperates with the sleeve in forma unit upon motor. The supporting arms,

1.9 extend to the opposite side of the sleeve at a point adjacent its upper end where they are fixedly secured to the sleeve by welding or other suitable means.

In Figure 1 have shown a'motor or generator including a casing K open at one side and provided with a bearing yoke 20 arranged in spanning relation with respect to the opening. This bearing yoke includes divergent arms, and because of its construction it necessitates the forming of the clasp C with a yoke 17 one vertical arm of which is longer than the other so as to dispose the yoke in convergent relation with the sleeve S in order that the cleaning and lubricating element E may be supported in proper position with relation to the commutator of the motor or generator. In applied position, the clasp C of the device embraces one arm of the bearing yoke 20 in the manner shown in Figure l, the arm being inserted between the yoke 17 and sleeve S, and being securely held thereon under the action of the coils 18. In this'p'osition of the device, the element is disposed in tangential relation with respect to the commutator, the latter engaging the element at a point between the positioning finger F and the lower end of the sleeve S. This portion of the element is flexible or yielding so as to conform to the contour of the commutator and to thus pr0- vide a large contacting surface with the commutator. With the element in this position, it will be clear that rotation of the commutator effects a cleaning of its segmentsby virtue of the element contacting with such segments, and when the felt strip isv satu rated with oil, it is obvious that the proper lubrication of the segments is effected. The

construction of the device permits of its Although I have herein shown and de-' scribed only one form of cleaning and lubricating dcvice'embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

-WhatI claim is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a sleeve, a positioning finger on the sleeve, and a strip of absorbent material trained through the sleeve and embracing the finger. V

2. A device of the character described comprising a sleeve and a positioning finger formed of a single length of material, a strip of absorbent material secured in loop formation, and trained through said sleeve and embracing said positioning finger, and a clasp coacting with the sleeve and adapted to support the latter on a motor or generator casing so that the strip Will effect contacting relation with respect to the commutator of the motor or generator.

3. A device of the character described comprising a sleeve, a positioning finger formedvon the sleeve, and a strip of absorbent material secured in looped formation,

said strip extending through the sleeve and embracing said finger.

4. A device of the character described comprising a sleeve, a positioning finger on the sleeve, a strip of absorbent material securedcin looped formation, said strip being trained through the sleeve and embracing the positioning finger, and a clasp comprising a yoke arranged at one side of the sleeve, coiled springs for yieldingly supporting the yoke, and supporting arms connected to the springs and fixedly connected to the sleeve. 5. A device of the character described comprising a sleeve, a strip of absorbent material secured in loop formation and trained through the sleeve, and means adapted to coact With the sleeve for maintaining the strip in loop formation.

LESTER ALBERT BARRY. 

